


hand in hand is the only way to land

by hannuk



Series: kitty!mark [1]
Category: Social Network (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-26
Updated: 2012-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-19 14:42:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/574378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannuk/pseuds/hannuk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>kitty!mark</p>
            </blockquote>





	hand in hand is the only way to land

Some of Mark’s peculiarities are outwardly apparent. The grey ears that poke out of his curly hair, flattening down when he is irritated or anxious, and the tail in the same shade that flicks and sways with Mark’s mood, are probably the two most obvious things, the things that make people pick him out as different as soon as they set eyes on him. When actually interacting with Mark though, the thing that makes him seem most inhuman, most alien, is the shape of his pupils. The strangeness of seeing cat pupils in human shaped eyes is striking, and it still makes Eduardo stop and stare for a second. He still can’t decide if he finds them beautiful or frightening.

He meets Mark through Dustin, Mark’s roommate. They’re assigned to an economics project together at the beginning of the semester. When Eduardo first suggests they work on it in Dustin’s suite, because there would be more space, Dustin seems reluctant, but eventually concedes, because Eduardo “doesn’t seem like too much of an asshole.” 

When Eduardo first sees Mark perched in the corner of the couch in Dustin’s dorm, ears flicking away and typing on his laptop, his first thought is, I didn’t think they let those into college, (he’d been so stupid, so immature, so strongly influenced by his father’s traditionalism that in certain areas of his life he didn’t think for himself.)  
  
Through his friendship with Dustin and, later, Chris, he gets to know Mark more and more, struck by his cutting intelligence, his anger, his wit. One night they are drunk together, no space between them on the couch and the Mario Kart theme singing in the background. Eduardo, loose and slurring from the alcohol, asks Mark why he’s so angry all the time. Mark is quiet for a long time, and even through the haze of beer and tequila shots he can recognized he’s overstepped, but before he can try to backtrack Mark says quietly, “You would be angry too if people constantly told you that you are less than them because of what you are,” and that makes a lot of sense to Eduardo. Mark’s smart, certainly smarter than most people Eduardo knows, and Eduardo knows that Mark has probably been talked down to all his life, and he can imagine the bitterness that would result from that, the resentment.

The day he realizes he is in love with Mark is an evening in late November, with the first snowfall of the year fresh on the Harvard grounds. They are walking across campus to a coffee shop that Mark likes (Mark likes coffee, he has a tendency to sleep for many hours a day if he is not properly caffeinated.) Mark’s hair and ears are covered in a dusting of snowflakes, and Eduardo goes to brush them off his head, knowing that Mark will be cold when they melt in the warmth of the coffee shop. When Eduardo’s palm brushes Mark’s hair, Mark immediately leans into the touch, pushing up against Eduardo’s hand and Eduardo can feel Mark purring and in those moments his heart feels like it’s expanded exponentially. In the warmth of the streetlights Eduardo realizes they have stopped walking, and Eduardo has started scratching Mark’s ears, if only for the intoxication noises Mark is making, and the way his eyes are slitted closed. Eduardo feels nothing but love for this strange, strikingly intelligent boy, and he is overwhelmed by it, by how much he feels for Mark. With his hand still in Marks hair, scratching against his scalp, he leans over and presses his mouth to Mark’s. Mark’s eyes open in surprise, but he quickly responds to Eduardo’s lips moving against his, leaning up on his toes and his clawed fingers dig into Eduardo’s shoulders. He’s sure he’d feel it if he wasn’t wearing his wool coat. They stay like that for a while, Eduardo still scratching Mark’s head and becoming dizzy with the feeling of Mark purring into his mouth. Mark nicks Eduardo’s lip with his teeth, but Eduardo doesn’t care, even when he the sharp metallic taste of blood finds his tongue. When Eduardo eventually pulls away, Mark makes a sharp mewing sound, but after a second he comes back to himself, taking half a step back and staring at Eduardo expectantly, a bright blush colouring his cheeks. Eduardo can feel himself grinning maniacally, and says the first thing on his mind,

“Coffee?”

Mark nods, looks down, and reaches out, taking Eduardo’s hand in his. He can see Mark smiling to himself, his head tilted down, and he feels happier than he’s been in a long time.


End file.
